Note to the media: Tadd Johnson, MTAG's program director, will be available
for interviews from 6:30 – 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, May 16,
directly before the UMD Graduate Commencement Ceremony.

The first Master of Tribal Administration and Governance (MTAG) class will
graduate from UMD on Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 7 p.m. in Romano Gymnasium, located in
the Sports and Health Center at UMD. The commencement address will be given by Kevin
Washburn, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior.

UMD's Master of Tribal Administration and Governance (MTAG) is the only graduate degree
program in the U.S. that trains people specifically in the best management practices for tribal
governments. It focuses on tribal sovereignty, federal Indian law, leadership, ethics, tribal
accounting and budgets, and tribal management (strategic, operations, project and human
resources.) MTAG was designed for tribes by tribes. The program meets on weekends and
online.

The MTAG program began in the fall of 2011, after two years of extensive consultations with tribal
administrators, tribal leaders, and tribal organizations at national conferences and throughout
the Midwest. These meetings affirmed that there is a need for partnership between tribes and a
university to assist in training tribal administrators.

"We did not start out with the ideas for MTAG, they came from Indian Country," said Tadd
Johnson, director of graduate studies and chair of the American Indian Studies department
at UMD. Brian McInnes, UMD. Brian McInnes, assistant professor in the Department of Education, adds, "I really see this adds, "I really see this program as a good way that UMD has been responsive to
the community. It is a product of tribal consultation."

UMD will graduate 22 students are graduating from the MTAG program on Thursday, May 16.
It's an accomplished group, consisting of tribal members from throughout the Midwest including
three executive directors of Indian tribes, the tribal liaison for the Minnesota Department of
Transportation, and several managers running programs on area reservations. Johnson says,
"These students are the future leaders of Indian Country."

Admission information for MTAG can be found at www.umdmtag.org, umdmtag@d.umn.edu, or
by calling (218) 726-7332.

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